Converting monsters from Dragon magazine

[demiurge1138]

Please?

 

[Shade]

Please be finished? It only took a little over a month.

SPIDER CAT
Created by: K.L. Campbell
FREQUENCY: Very rare
NO. APPEARING: 2-12
ARMOR CLASS: -1
MOVE: 24” (includes vertical surfaces)*26”
HIT DICE: 7+7
% IN LAIR: 80%
TREASURE TYPE: B
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 bite and 2 clawed forefeet
DAMAGE: 2-12/2-8/2-8
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Web, poison
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Immune to webs, fear, and illusions; +2 or better weapon to hit
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 30%
INTELLIGENCE: Semi-
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic neutral
SIZE: L (10’ long)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
LEVEL/XP VALUE: VII/1,725 + 10/hp

Spider cats are the creations of a mad wizard, millenia dead. They now roam the Prime Material Plane, eating anything smaller than they are.

Predatory spider cats are able to fire a mass of webbing at likely looking prey within 30’. If a spider cat’s webbing hits a target, the victim must roll his bend bars/lift gates percentage to break free. A roll is allowed each round that a victim is held, but the strands get harder and tighter each each round, causing a cumulative -10% to the bend bars roll until the victim is completely immobile. Once a single spider cat has webbed a target, it drags off its prey in the rigid mass, leaving everyone else alone (including other potential victims or attackers). If such a beast is attacked, however, it defends itself.

If bitten by a spider cat, a victim must save vs. poison at -2 or die. If he makes his save, he takes 25 hp damage from the effects of the spider venom. Anyone slain by the venom is slowly dissolved, from the inside out, as the venom liquefies the once-living tissue. Because of this process, slain adventurers can only be brought back to life with a wish spell. The dissolving process is completed within 13-24 rounds, leaving the victim sealed inside the hardened webbing for the spider cat’s later enjoyment (spider cats can easily bite through and consume their own hardened webs).

Spider cats appear to have the thorax and abdomen of a tarantula-like spider, with a feline head, a golden-furred body, and lionlike clawed feet. Large, sharpened mandibles appear in place of a regular mouth. These monsters tend to lair in prides which attack all living creatures, though they strictly avoid undead (apparently hating the smell). They collect treasure by accident, though their ravages usually ensure that the remains of many victims and their belongings will be found in their cavern lairs.

Originally appeared in Dragon Magazine #118 (1987).

SPIDER CAT
SPIDER CAT
Does whatever a SPIDER CAT does
Can he swing
From a web
No he cant
He's a cat
LOOK OOOUUUTTT!!!!
He is a SPIDER CAT!!

With apologies to the Simpsons.

 

[Cleon]

Please be finished? It only took a little over a month.

You didn't really expect to escape so soon, did you?

Firstly, there's an error in the stats.

The Medium Spider should have a bite attack of +8, not +5 (+5 HD, +2 Str, +1 Weapon Focus).

Secondly, I'm not 100% sure about the Challenge Rating of 9, but these things are very hard to peg. If you attack it with cold off the bat they're a pretty easy kill, but it you have to wittle them down through the entire growth cycle they're a tough proposition.

Thinking it over, I think I'd rather give each stage its own CR - say CR 3 for the Small, CR 4 for Medium, CR 5 for Large and CR 6 for Huge - and just add up the XP as if the players' had fought them as a succession of separate monsters, maybe with a bonus for delivering the "final death".

I'll go along with giving them a single CR if you think that's too fiddly, though.

 

[Shade]

You didn't really expect to escape so soon, did you?

No, I was hoping to be converting things to 3e well into 8th editon.

Firstly, there's an error in the stats.

The Medium Spider should have a bite attack of +8, not +5 (+5 HD, +2 Str, +1 Weapon Focus).

Fixed.

I'll go along with giving them a single CR if you think that's too fiddly, though.

Yeah, way too fiddly.

 

[Cleon]

Please be finished? It only took a little over a month.

SPIDER CAT
Created by: K.L. Campbell
FREQUENCY: Very rare
NO. APPEARING: 2-12
ARMOR CLASS: -1
MOVE: 24” (includes vertical surfaces)*26”
HIT DICE: 7+7
% IN LAIR: 80%
TREASURE TYPE: B
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 bite and 2 clawed forefeet
DAMAGE: 2-12/2-8/2-8
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Web, poison
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Immune to webs, fear, and illusions; +2 or better weapon to hit
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 30%
INTELLIGENCE: Semi-
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic neutral
SIZE: L (10’ long)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
LEVEL/XP VALUE: VII/1,725 + 10/hp

Oh good! This is my favourite of the Dragon #118 spider monsters, and it made for a fun conversion. I'm looking forward to seeing what this thread's take on it will be.

Starting at the beginning, Magical Beast seems pretty obvious, considering it's higher-than-animal intelligence.

Other obvious bits: Size Large; Armour Class 21 or so, SA: Poison and Solidifying Web; SQ: Damage Reduction, Immunities, Spell Resistance, plus the usual Magical Beast's Darkvision and Low-Light Vision.

 

[Cleon]

SPIDER CAT
SPIDER CAT
Does whatever a SPIDER CAT does
Can he swing
From a web
No he cant
He's a cat
LOOK OOOUUUTTT!!!!
He is a SPIDER CAT!!

With apologies to the Simpsons.

Don't forget to apologize to Paul Francis Webster and Robert Harris.

Besides, if the spider cat can shoot webbing it can probably swing from a web, so you're getting it wrong!

 

[Shade]

I could see giving it pounce as well, since it seems to come partially from lion stock, like the griffon.

 

[Cleon]

I could see giving it pounce as well, since it seems to come partially from lion stock, like the griffon.

That was my thinking too. I ended up using the SRD Tiger's stats, since they were a better fit to the Spider Cat's damage and Hit Dice.

 

[Shade]

Let's figure out ability scores:

Lion: Str 21, Dex 17, Con 15, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6, +3 natural armor
Large Monstrous Spider: Str 15, Dex 17, Con 12, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 2, +2 natural armor
Griffon: Str 18, Dex 15, Con 16, Int 5, Wis 13, Cha 8, +6 natural armor
Phase Spider: Str 17, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 7, Wis 13, Cha 10, +3 natural armor

Int is Semi- (2-4).
7+7 HD implies good Con.
AC 21 implies good Dex. Even with the griffon's +6 natural armor, we'd still need another +6 from Dex to achieve that AC, barring deflection/insight bonuses (which don't seem appropriate here).

So how about...

Str 17, Dex 23, Con 16, Int 3, Wis 12, Cha 7, +6 natural armor

 

[freyar]

Abilities look ok to me!

I'm starting to feel that we should start up a "finishing the spiders" thread, but I also have a suspicion that it would take forever to finish due to the number of these monsters!